Mercruiser 140 inboard power tilt trim worked an hour ago, now doesn't

Mikecouil

Cadet
Joined
Apr 10, 2003
Messages
20
I can go "in" but not "up" or "out". It wont even try, meaning I can hear the motor kicking in going in, but when I go up or out it won't even click.

I JUST got the boat out of the shop 2 hours ago with a replacement starter. The only reason I took it to the shop instead of doing it myself is that I figured it COULDN"T have been the starter since I just paid a guy last fall to rebuild mine. Turns out he charged me 133.00 to open it up and clean it up a little bit and put it back in, didn't rebuild it, and hence this spring the starter went out again. Time between servicing? ONE outing....

So now it's Friday night of Memorial Day weekend, all the shops are closed, and my family expects me to have the boat ready to go tomorrow morning.

I read the other thread about the last guy to have a tilt/trim problem and saw the first step is to make sure the fluid is good. I took the fill screw out and fluid started leaking out right away so I replaced it. This was the bottom screw I took out. There is an identical one next to it that is a bit higher. But since there is fluid in there I am assuming it's enough to get the trim up. Even if it's not, that wouldn't prevent the motor from even kicking in would it?

Assuming that fluid levels are good, what is my first step? Do I need to remove the entire motor from the boat and bench test it using the jumpers I saw in the last thread? Any help is appreciated.

I've got a feeling we're going to be land lubbers for Memorial Day....which won't be the worst thing ever with gas prices...
 

Gary H NC

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Dec 1, 2005
Messages
8,972
Re: Mercruiser 140 inboard power tilt trim worked an hour ago, now doesn't

Start checking connections from the pump to the the trim relays.Clean them up one at a time with sand paper.I bet its something loose or corroded..;)
 

Mikecouil

Cadet
Joined
Apr 10, 2003
Messages
20
Re: Mercruiser 140 inboard power tilt trim worked an hour ago, now doesn't

Thank you for giving me a place to start
 

Don S

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Aug 31, 2004
Messages
62,321
Re: Mercruiser 140 inboard power tilt trim worked an hour ago, now doesn't

What Year?????
 

Mikecouil

Cadet
Joined
Apr 10, 2003
Messages
20
Re: Mercruiser 140 inboard power tilt trim worked an hour ago, now doesn't

What Year?????


The boat is a 78 and as far as I know it's the original engine, so lets go with 78.

The good news is it's working again. I went in, tore the seats out, hand sandpaper in hand but didn't get to use it because I wasn't exactly sure I was sanding. I started feeling around connections and everything certainly LOOKED clean. There is only one thing that can get unplugged, so I unplugged that (has a red cap on it and fits into a sort of 3 pronged outlet) cleaned that up and sanded it, reconnected, and went to check and now it goes up and down again. I don't know if I just got lucky or if the connection was bad or if one of the wires I wiggled had something to do with it. I'm certainly hoping for the first one.

I appreciate the help guys :)
 

Coors

Captain
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
3,367
Re: Mercruiser 140 inboard power tilt trim worked an hour ago, now doesn't

You still have a bad connection, that will bite you this w/e.
Clean them all tonight, and spray with contact cleaner.
 
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